PASCO – The Tri-City Dust Devils (26-24) saw the Spokane Indians (21-29) speed away from the close game they were playing Saturday night, with the visitors compiling six 8th inning runs in a 9-1 victory over the Dust Devils at Gesa Stadium.
Southpaw starter Lucas Knowles (3-1) took the ball for the home nine, playing as the Columbia River Rooster Tails for the first time in 2026. The lefty got out of bases loaded trouble in the 1st and left two more runners on in the 2nd to keep Spokane off the board. Indians starter Jackson Cox (3-1) matched Knowles in the posting of zeroes department, holding Columbia River to a hit and a walk in the first three frames.
A bit of small ball got Spokane on the board in the top of the 4th. After a single and a walk put two on with no one out, DH Jacob Hinderleider laid down a sacrifice bunt to move runners to second and third with one out. Knowles nearly got out of it again, with a runner cut down trying to get home for the second out, but RF Tommy Hopfe grounded a ball back to Knowles and off of him away enough to reach on an RBI infield single that got the Indians on the board. The Rooster Tails start would give up only the one run in five innings of work, giving up six hits and striking out a pair.
Two more runs, unearned due to an error, pushed Spokane’s lead to 3-0 in the 6th and Cox kept Columbia River at bay in six scoreless innings, beating the baseballers of Pasco, Kennewick and Richland for the second time in as many tries. The Rooster Tails got their only run of the night in the bottom of the 7th when 1B Ryan Nicholson, who reached on catcher’s interference with one out, came all the way around from first on an RBI double from 2B David Mershon. Then the 8th happened and, from there, the Indians cruised to their second win of the week.
RF Randy De Jesus had two of the team’s three hits, going 2-for-4 with a double. Reliever Luke Cooper made his debut as well, giving up a pair of unearned runs but netting his first two strikeouts as an Angels farmhand.
WIN A GAME, WIN A SERIES
The Tri-City Dust Devils return to take on Spokane in their series finale at 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Gesa Stadium. A rematch of Tuesday’s starters will take place, with right-hander Peyton Olejnik (1-5, 6.25 ERA) to the mound for the Dust Devils and the Indians sending righty Jordy Vargas (1-3, 3.38 ERA) back out for the second time this week. Both starters pitched well in Tuesday’s matchup, but both received no-decisions.
It will also be Mental Health Awareness Day at the ballpark, presented by the Benton Franklin Behavioral Health Committee, as well as a Family Feast Day presented by Yoke’s Fresh Market. Hot dogs, 16 oz. Coca-Cola products, bags of chips and ice cream sandwiches can each be enjoyed for $2.50 per item throughout the game.
Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com will begin with the Rooster Tails Pregame Show at 1:10 p.m. Fans can also watch the games for free on Bally Sports Live, and via subscription on MLB.tv and the MiLB app.
After a day off at home the Vancouver Canadians come to town for six games, serving as the second half of a 12-game homestand. For tickets to the Vancouver series, as well as all 2026 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.